The Orissa high court has ordered the immediate reinstatement of a woman judicial officer whose resignation was accepted by the Odisha government after her requests for a transfer to Bhubaneswar to care for her autistic son went unheeded, holding that her resignation was not voluntary but made under duress.
However, the High Court Registry failed to communicate the withdrawal to the Governor or the Law Department. The bench said the then Chief Justice directed that the withdrawal application be placed before the full court on December 22, 2022. Unaware of the withdrawal request, the Governor approved the resignation proposal on December 31, 2022, and the Law Department issued the relieving notification on January 2, 2023.
The court said Mohanty’s resignation, submitted on November 29, 2022, was driven by “compelling reasons” after she was transferred to Hindol in Dhenkanal district, where specialised therapy and treatment for her 15-year-old son, who has severe autism spectrum disorder and neurological ailments, were unavailable.
The Registry later submitted her withdrawal application to the Chief Justice on the same day, but it was dropped on the ground that the government had already issued the notification relieving her from service. Referring to Rule 34(4) of the Odisha Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1992, the court said a government employee who resigns for compelling reasons can withdraw the resignation before its effective acceptance, provided certain conditions are met.
The two-judge bench said these administrative lapses could not deprive the petitioner of her legal right to withdraw her resignation before it took effect. “We hold and declare that the petitioner’s resignation submitted on November 29, 2022, cannot be construed as voluntary,” the bench said, adding that the relieving notification was “bad in law. The bench said in its order that Mohanty had an unblemished service record, with no pending vigilance inquiry, disciplinary proceeding or financial liability against her.
